Boston Public Schools Historical Research: School Buildings
BPS History
Home - General histories of the Boston Public School system and individual schools
Busing Crisis - The most controversial era for the Boston Public Schools
Official Records - Available from the Boston Public Library or the Boston Public School Department
Schools - Researching specific school names, school buildings and images
Yearbooks - Finding yearbooks for specific schools
School Buildings
However, you regard the school buildings where you were educated, many are architectural wonders. While a school building may be used for many years purely for education, some served different purposes over the life of the building. Bostonians who live long enough may find themselves living in the same buildings where they learned their ABC's.
To research the history of the building, you need to search both resources for its life as a school and resources for its life before or after its educational use. Use the following tabs to get started.
To research a building when it was a school, check in the catalog under:
Subject: School Buildings -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- History
Or:
Subject: School Buildings -- Massachusetts -- Boston
Or:
Subject: Individual School. e.g. English High School (Boston, Mass.)
If the you are researching a school between 1901 and 1935, check out the Annual Reports of the Board of Schoolhouse Commissioners (1901-1929) or the Annual Reports of the Department of School Buildings (1930-1935). As well as, School Department/School Committee proceedings, City Council reports and local newspapers. [See resources in box above.]
Boston school buildings may be used before, during and/or after their time as a school by other city agencies. When no longer used as a school, they also may be sold to private developers for use as residences or businesses.
For help researching non-school uses of buildings, go to the Art and Architecture research guide, especially under the tab: